Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren was on Thursday sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail after a 13-day interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate in a land scam and money laundering case.
It is alleged that Soren with the help of land mafias and his associates had grabbed 8.4 acres of land in a posh area of Ranchi and was planning to build a banquet hall there.
Soren was produced in the PMLA court of Dinesh Rai after his 13-day remand concluded on Thursday. The court sent Soren to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi under judicial custody.
Earlier, before his production in the court, Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpna Soren met him at the ED’s Zonal office, where he was kept for the past 13 days.
Soren’s close aide Vinod Singh was also interrogated for about an hour at ED office on Thursday. It is being said that Vinod Singh can become a government witness in the alleged land scam.
Another person, who is said to become a government witness, is Bhanu Pratap Prasad, who was working as the Revenue Sub Inspector of Badgain area, where the said land is located.
Notably, ED has indicated that important information has been received from the two persons about the disputed land. ED has also submitted the print out of 201 page WhatsApp chat in the court, which contains details of the discussions between Hemant Soren and Binod Singh.
ED has told the court that many confidential conversations took place between Soren and Vinod Singh through WhatsApp.
The chat allegedly mentions 8.4 acres of land in Bariatu in the name of Hemant. It has also said that confidential information about many types of properties has been shared in WhatsApp chats.
Also, government information and posting and transfer of officers have been discussed many times in the chat.
It appears from the WhatsApp chats that in some cases money transactions and its sources have been discussed between the two.
A huge amount has been mentioned at many places.
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